***Jagger***

Tessera comes running into the room, causing all heads to turn her way, the other girls coming up behind her. I’m on my feet the next instant, making sure to close the distance with rapid speed.

“What happened?” I question, my heart beating faster because of the way she stormed in here.

“Vike is Tria’s mate so she’s kinda screwed,” Tessera states.

Tria shoves Tessera’s shoulder. “Thanks a lot, sis,” she grumbles.

“Are you sure he’s your mate?” I direct my question at Tria, because this could be a good thing, seeing he won’t do her any harm if this is true.

Tria shrugs. “He might be. I had this feeling when he showed up outside but he really gets on my nerves. But if Grandpa says it’s so.” She shrugs again.

Grandpa? “He was fucking here?” I growl at Tessera.

“Yes, he was. Calm down, he didn’t mean any harm. We spoke and it was a good talk,” she fucking beams.

I’m happy for her but dammit, underneath my own fucking roof, what the fuck would have happened if it wasn’t all a lovely family reunion?

“We do have a slight, maybe bigger than slight problem, though.” Tessera winces. “Vike isn’t such a good guy and his twin is cursed and locked away in some dungeon and then there’s the Demon who cursed him who’s still out there.”

“That totally makes sense.” Caius rolls his eyes. “Could you start over and add more details? Who is cursed and locked away? Wait...why the hell would you think Vike is a good guy? Did him being a Demon not indicate a big ol’ flashing sign stating the fucker is evil?”

“Well, Azrael isn’t a real chatty person.” Tessera glares at Caius. “He said something about a legend unraveled that needs to be seen through, and he mentioned Tria is a part of this.”

“Just great,” I mutter.

Alastair steps toward Eliana, pulling her close to him. “I’ve heard about this legend. If it concerns the one about the Demons...it’s close to an apocalyptic thing where a shift of power can result in a change that involves all of us. The Elite though, they aren’t to interfere. Something about making your own bed and sleeping in it; good versus evil, letting it play out.”

“Fuck.” I rub my fingers against my temple.

I hate the fact that all of this is tangled with my Old Lady. Yet with what Alastair just said...it’s tied to all of us. “We need your grandfather back here to shed some more light on this.”

“Yeah, that won’t happen, you know how they are.” Nixie stalks over to Caius. “Tria said something and Azrael close to hightailed out of there. They only show and talk to who they want or need to. For they are...Elite.”

Thank the Witch to state this shit, and the fact she’s obsessed with Angels and Dragons.

“What’s the plan here?” Alastair chimes in. “Bring the Demon back to discuss his beef with another Demon so our Old Ladies can breathe happily knowing their sister isn’t being thrown into a fight that might inflict an apocalypse?”

“See?” Tessera snaps. “He knows how to summon things up perfectly. Gah, where were you when grandpa was around?”

“Right here,” Alastair mutters.

“For fuck’s sake.” I rub a hand over my face. “Do we have a way to contact Vike?”

“Do we have to?” Tria groans. “I’m aware we need to do something but for real...he’s got a window on his damn chest to let others get a glimpse of shit. He showed me my sister in a freaking dungeon! I’m not exactly jumping to get hot and naked with this guy who some Elite implied is my damn mate.”

“Grandpa said you’re part of this legend,” Tessera snaps at Tria. “Do I need to remind you about the fact he also mentioned Vike wasn’t the one who would evoke an apocalypse? We all have to jump into this thing that’s called living and there are a few things you can’t avoid. Like this mate thing, souls connected, it’s branded deep into your bones. You’ll know when you get close to him.”

Tria snorts. “My hand drawing blood from his cheek was as close as I could get, didn’t spike my heartrate into a lovey-dovey beat, it fueled my anger instead, remember?”

Tessera sighs. “Love, hate, fine line. Look, all I know is that in my human life I learned to follow my gut and the statement ‘everything happens for a reason’ has a ring of truth. I also believe what Grandpa said is crucial. It doesn’t mean I’m sharpening my knives and heading out for war to face an apocalypse, but it does mean I can’t ignore what’s going on. Think of the bigger picture. Our biological father made us powerful Paranormals to face something he wanted to go up against. I have this feeling there’s more to it than that, okay? It’s weird. It’s all weird.”

Alastair hisses through his teeth. “Wait just one fucking moment here. You can’t believe Derek, former Prez of Heaven’s MC, was planning something with a lower Demon to face something together. That’s so farfetched.”

“Hey,” Tessera snaps. “I watch movies, series, read books, and have a master’s degree in Greek Mythology. No. Nothing is farfetched when it comes to planning an apocalypse. It’s a power surge, plain and simple, and what happens when an MC Prez turns evil? Does he go to the good guy for help? It’s like one tiny push gets a ball rolling and you’ll never know what path it’ll take.”

Fuck. Why didn’t anyone think of that fucking twist. “Alastair.”

“I’m thinking,” Alastair growls.

“Good, because I get the chills from this fucking plot twist. If this shit is true...” I press.

“Then it’s been going on for decades and it’s not just their father who had a twisted mindset to go and take on something on his own,” Alastair finishes.

“Fuck. Then his twisted mindset didn’t end when we killed their father. Maybe it wasn’t just him who thought up this fucked up plan to create powerful Paranormals,” I state.

“Wait.” Everyone glances at Tessera. “Grandpa said there was something about a legend. Our father might have tipped it off, or maybe the Demon did with cursing Vike’s brother way before that time, or it could be all of it. In the end it doesn’t matter...we need to think about how to handle or act now.”

“Could you maybe, please, stop calling that Angel grandpa and just call him by his name?” Nixie winces. “It’s seriously weird to use grandpa for a dude who looks like he walked out of a model magazine.”

I skip over the comment and address Tessera. “Did Azrael mention an apocalypse? Exactly that word?”

Tessera’s voice changes into the monotone voice of Azrael. “It is not him who will evoke an apocalypse.” Switching back to her normal Angelic voice she adds, “To me it sounds like Vike isn’t the one to blame, but that there will be one, because right after Azrael added the part about a legend unraveled and how it needs to be seen through. Oh, and that Tria and her sister are a part of this.”

“Sisters,” Velma says, making everyone look at her. “What? Azrael said sisters. With the added S. As in plural. You guys were thinking about Tria’s problem and her twin, but he clearly said sisters.”

“Motherfuckers. That’s why they didn’t stop Derek but let him run his course, don’t you see? The good guys waited for us to step in, and me...the Prez of a damn Hell Charter mating with a half blood that’s got a twist of heaven and Witch? My VP mating to a full blood heaven, and a Vamp linked with one that’s got a dash of Elite? Add the Demon mating a Phoenix-Fae Paranormal and you’ve got quite the arsenal to go against a Demon who wants to evoke a fucking apocalypse.”

“You know...there was this series I used to watch with a guy chewing his cigar and when things fell into place he would say something about loving the way a plan comes together. But for real...this is just a little too much over the loony bin. You guys might see all the pieces of this damn puzzle come together as one but I for one have no clue what the hell is going on.” Tessera rubs her eyes and releases a deep sigh.

I reach out and pull her close. “It’s the bigger picture, Angel. There is no coincidence. Derek’s daughters were set on this world to save it and face the evil who wants to ruin it.”

“Again, leave it to the men to sum things up perfectly,” she mutters against my chest, making me chuckle.

“What do we do now?” I ask Alastair since he’s the one who has the higher rank between us.

“Now we need a way to contact Vike and get him to meet us to make a plan together. Whether he wants to or not, it’s clear to me we’re his backup to face this Demon. That fucker needs to be stopped.”

“I can think of a way to summon him here.” Nixie steps forward. “He left a trail with his bike when he hightailed out of here.”

“This might be a stupid question and all, but why doesn’t an army of those Elite join in and swoop away this so-called Demon who will cause the apocalypse? Isn’t it the easiest way to get rid of the number one problem?” Tessera questions.

Alastair sighs. “It’s the human upbringing that raises your question. Paranormals balance out the humans. Living beside one another simultaneously. I’m not saying it’s the humans who cause Paranormals to slip off track but when a human turns into...say...a serial killer? This releases a wave, like a disease that spreads. Heaven Charter and Hell Charter are unaffected by this because those are the ones who reap souls. They clean up the mess so to say. Vampire Charter, Demon Charter, and so on, are in charge of cleaning up the mess of one of their own. So, if a Vamp gets tainted and goes on a killer spree, it’s Jagger here who will take care of it if it’s in his state. Now if it’s a Demon who goes nuts, it’s the Prez of the Demon Charter who needs to take action. If that doesn’t work...that’s where I come in, the Hellhounds Charter. Seeing the Demon Charter became outlaws, we had the order to retreat and let them clean up their own mess. Except now that Demon mess has spread too far and we need to step in.”

Tessera scrunches her eyebrows. “Let me get this straight...you guys are the last line of defense...not the Elite?”

“They sometimes set foot on earth when a human is in dire need. This is very rare. But with something like this? When it’s really time for the Elite to step in...it would mean hitting the reset button for planet Earth,” Alastair says with a grim voice, silencing everyone inside the room.